LOCAL: Customers Take Part in ‘Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day’ Despite Controversy

CLEVELAND – Hundreds flocked to Chick-fil-A restaurants across northeast Ohio Wednesday after a Facebook campaign called “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day,” started by former governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee, encouraged people to stand up for the biblical view of marriage.

NewsChannel5 reporters in the field said many of the people eating at Chick-fil-A Wednesday said they were there to support the restaurant’s opinions.

A post on the “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day” Facebook page — written by an administrator — explained why Chick-fil-A stands behind its view against same-sex marriage.

The post said, “It grieves me to see so many take sin lightly in their lives because it mocks what Christ did on the Cross. A believer in Christ still has the capacity to sin, but the power of the Holy Spirit that resides in him, will convict him, humble him, and restore him.”

Not everyone agrees with the views of Chick-fil-A, however.

A group called The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLADD) has launched a counter-campaign called “Skip the Sandwich” and calls for GLADD supporters to donate the $6 they would spend on a Chick-fil-A sandwich to GLADD and its efforts to expose restaurants that discriminate, according to the GLADD website .

CNN reports said GLADD is planning a counter-campaign on Friday, Aug. 3 called “Same-sex kiss day” where gay and lesbian couples are encouraged to show up to a Chick-fil-A restaurant to kiss in public.

Whether you support or disagree with the restaurant’s values, don’t expect to show up to a northeast Ohio Chick-fil-A on Aug. 1 without a wait.